Scott Redding achieved his goal of a top ten finish in today’s Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi, which was run in difficult conditions due to the arrival of the forecast rain at the circuit this morning.

After struggling for grip in this morning’s wet warm up, Redding opted to switch to the harder option rear wet tyre on the grid, gambling on the fact that the break in the rain would last until the end of the race and the track would start to dry on the racing line.

It meant the 22-year-old Briton struggled to settle into a good rhythm in the early laps, but the tyre decision paid dividends as the rain held off and the track started to dry.

At the halfway point Redding was able to scythe his way through the field and back into the fight for points. With the rest of the field starting to struggle for grip as their tyres went off, the Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider was consistently one of the fastest riders on track and was able to pick off his rivals one by one, to eventually cross the line in tenth position.

Redding was satisfied with the result today and is now looking forward to next weekend’s Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island, one of his all-time favourite tracks.



Scott Redding: 10th

“I’m happy with the second half of the race, but disappointed with the first half. I decided to go with the harder option rear on the grid, but struggled to get the tyre to work until a few laps into the race. I lost a lot of time in the opening laps, as my pace wasn’t there and people were passing me, which slowed me further. Then, once I’d got some heat into the rear and the front started to come in it was much better and I was able to settle into a good rhythm. We don’t get these conditions often, so it was a learning experience for me and I think today I learnt more than in a normal race. Overall I’m pretty happy we hit our target of a top ten finish here. Now we head to Australia for the next race. It will be different on the factory bike compared to the open bike I rode last year, so we’ll have to see how it goes, but I’m looking forward to getting back to Phillip Island.

Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal

"To finish in the top ten is a good result and it's what we were expecting to achieve from the beginning of the year. At the start of the race it was very difficult for Scott to make the lap time on the harder rear wet but, after he’d managed to get some heat into the tyre, we could see it was the right decision. From he midpoint of the race onwards he was both fast and consistent, pushing his way through into a points scoring position and then picking off the last few riders to take tenth place at the line. I’m happy with the result, as it was the target we set ourselves at the beginning of the weekend. Now we head to one of Scott’s favourite tracks, and one where he’s gone well in the past, so it will be interesting to see what he can do at Phillip Island next weekend.”